* cababarant *

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Mijn verjaardag!

For my birthday, Kyle got me something I've been thinking on and off about since our Holland stint: a Brompton folding bike. It is so cute, and the one he gave me is orange, natch!

My Brompton bike model...

If you haven't seen one, they are really cute and weird-- they're British-designed like old-school cruisers (and steel, to boot) but they have little 18" wheels, and fold into a tidy little package, for taking on buses or trains. I saw tons of them in Holland, especially in Leiden where lots of students and university workers commute in and out of town.

Folding bikes are more common in Europe and Asia, and there seems to be a whole subculture that surrounds them. Dahon manufactures tons of them, but Brompton seems to be the undisputed king of folders, mainly because of its unique folding mechanism. Folders seem to be gaining in popularity; even Puma has a limited edition version, in collaboration with Biomega and Vexed. But the funniest one I've seen yet is this one-- the Handybike:

What are those-- stroller wheels? I almost fell over laughing when I saw this picture, imagining someone trying to ride down the bike trail with it. Total clown bike-- go Krusty!

Anyway, I should be zipping around town (or falling down) on my new Brompton. Thanks love!

Brompton website
Dahon website
Handybike website
The Folding Society UK website
Village Voice: Reinventing the Wheels
Gizmodo: The Puma Bike

posted by sheryl | 9:46 PM |

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